Top Ten Tuesday: 1973, The Next 10

Top Ten Tuesday 2 Minutes

We’re up to 1973 in this exercise of running down the numbers 11 through 20 on Billboard‘s year-end Hot 100.

#20 – Cher, "Half-Breed": Title track from her 1973 album, a song written by Al Capps and Mary Dean. It was Cher’s second #1 as a solo act, and the song earned a Gold record.

#19 – Stevie Wonder, "You Are the Sunshine Of My Life": The second single released from his 1972 album Talking Book, it reached #1 on both the Hot 100 and the Easy Listening chart, his first #1 there. He received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Male Vocal Performance, and the song was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.

#18 – Sweet, "Little Willy": Although it was pretty much despised by everyone in the music business, this Nicky Chinn/Mike Chapman composition reached #3 and was The Sweet’s biggest hit in the US.

#17 – Dobie Gray, "Drift Away": Written by Paul Williams’s brother Mentor, it was originally done by swamp rocker John Henry Kurtz in 1972. It became Dobie Gray’s biggest hit, reaching #5 and earning a gold record.

#16 – The Edgar Winter Group, "Frankenstein": Written as a showcase piece for multi-instrumentalist Edgar Winter, the name refers to the number of cuts and splices needed to create the track, because the band was always breaking off and jamming on the song. It was #1 for one week.

#15 – Billy Paul, "Me And Mrs. Jones": A song by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. It spent 3 weeks at #1 on both the Hot 100 and the R&B chart.

#14 – Helen Reddy, "Delta Dawn": A song by child rockabilly star larry Collins and songwriter Alex Harvey, it was first covered by 14-year-old Tanya Tucker in 1972, when it reached #6 on the Country chart. Helen’s version reached #1 on both the Hot 100 and the Easy Listening chart.

#13 – Stories, "Brother Louie": Written by Errol Brown and Tony Wilson of the British R&B band Hot Chocolate, who had a #7 hit in the UK with it. The Stories cover reached #1 on the Hot 100 and earned them a gold record.

#12 – Clint Holmes, "Playground In My Mind": Written by Paul Vance and Lee Pockriss, with Paul Vance’s 7-year-old son Phillip singing with Clint on the chorus. Reached #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 in Canada.

#11 – Vicki Lawrence, "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia": A song written by Bobby Russell, Vicki’s version reached #1.

And that’s Top Tuesday for July 27, 2020.

Published by John Holton

Internet disc jockey, lover of old TV (especially the commercials), inveterate wise guy.

Published

11 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: 1973, The Next 10”

  1. Pingback: The Seven Down, Five To Go Week That Was – The Sound of One Hand Typing

  2. I remember this song from Cher when she sang it on The Sonny & Cher Show. She looked so good and this song is quite a good one. Why is Sweet Willy hated so much? I like it..it’s catchy. Funny, I just watched Frankenstein last night(1931 version) and love the song which goes well with the film to be honest. Helen Reddy was big back in the day. Another great year for songs ecven the one with the little kid in it.

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    1. Helen Reddy had a good voice and a good ear for a pop tune. The good pop singers know what will work with their audience, and she was definitely a good one.

      I was on the fence with “Little Willy”: I didn’t mind it, even if it wasn’t my favorite song. The critics hated it, but it was the #18 song for 1973, so it had its fans.

      I was in high school when Cher was in her solo heyday, and it’s hard to tell if her looks or voice was the reason guys my age were attracted to her…

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  3. There are a few good ones in this selection! I like Drift Away and The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia. I thought Cher was attractive back then but now that she has had plastic surgeries she looks weird.

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    1. I like the way she looked back in the ’60’s, and I wouldn’t expect her at 75 to look like she did then. It’s the whole eternal youth thing. I don’t say “let yourself go,” but there’s nothing wrong with aging…

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